After Senate 2 of the Bundesliga initiated proceedings against Jürgen Werner for alleged misconduct as a players’ agent, the 60-year-old resigned as LASK Vice President in May 2021. Now the adviser to the group of investors at league rival Austria Vienna spoke in “Talk und Tore” on Sky about his relationship with his old employer. “I lost faith in humanity there at LASK because there were actually friends of mine who then reported me to the Bundesliga. That was a disappointing life experience.”
At the time, Werner was accused of allowing transfer funds to disappear into dubious channels. The former national team player, who worked as a sports director for Linz from 2015 and has been vice president since 2019, is said to have acquired transfer rights to players with an investment company and thus violated the ban on “third party ownership”. There was a mud fight between Werner and the people of Linz.
In the meantime, the “open wounds” have become “scars”, explained the Upper Austrian. He now has a normal relationship with LASK President Siegmund Gruber: “I’m also glad that I now have such a relationship with President Gruber and that we managed it. I have found my peace.”
“Wants to prove that LASK was not a flash in the pan”
In “Talk und Tore” the advisor to Wiener Austria also commented on what role he will take on in the future with the violets. “I don’t want to be a target for Austria,” explained Werner, adding: “I can imagine going onto the supervisory board one day, but I won’t do any operational work.”
Regarding his entry as an investor in Austria, he says: “I thought to myself: I’m 60 years old, it can’t have been that yet. It was clear to me that I still wanted to do something in football and it might also be a bit of an ego to show that it wasn’t a flash in the pan at LASK. I’ve been in the business for 40 years and I know how the mechanics work and how to put a team together. I want to prove that now and get Austria back on track.”
The financial situation continues to be tense: “In the last ten years, Austria has seen that foreign money was not managed properly. Economically it is still scarce and there are still savings to be made. And above all in the budget you have to shift the money to the team. We’ve now woken the patient from the coma, but we’re still in intensive care. The next step will be that we get to the bed ward and then see how to fully recover.”
Source: Nachrichten
